June 2014

27 June 2014
Published: 27 June 2014

We have been a very busy school this week.

Senior pupils wanting to take on leadership responsibilities in the school have been interviewed, given speeches and generally campaigned to prove that they were the best for the jobs.  So, after a hard-fought contest Annabel Jackson and Calum Paul are our new Head Boy and Head Girl and they will be ably supported by their deputies: Eilidh McClure and Hamish Moodley.  As ever, I was exceptionally proud of all the seniors who threw their hats in the ring and look forward to working with them all next session.  We also announced the School Council Representatives and House Heads at assemblies this morning.  Congratulations to them all.

I received a couple of letter this week congratulating our pupils for their demeanour and attitude.  It’s always lovely to receive positive reports of the youngsters – sometimes we get fixated by them getting things wrong that we forget to catch them getting things right.  Our pupils are a credit to the school: be it when they are helping at Sports’ Days at our Cluster Primary Schools, doing Geography fieldwork surveys or in public speaking.

I want to take this opportunity to wish the staff and pupils who are off to China on Sunday all the very best.  They have been preparing for this trip of a lifetime for nearly two years now.  The group have raised all their own funds and will be spending a month trekking, sightseeing and volunteering in China.  I hope that they travel safely and savour every moment of the trip.  I look forward to seeing many holiday snaps and hearing about their adventures when they return.

Next week sees us having our annual Sports’ Morning (if the weather holds) on Tuesday.  Please can you remind your child to dress appropriately (layers might be in order to cope with the Scottish weather) and remind them to bring water, a snack and sun cream (just in case).  We will have all of these available on the field but having their own will cut down on queues. 

Next Thursday is the Awards’ Ceremony.  It starts at 7pm and invitations went out a couple of weeks ago.  If you haven’t responded to your invitation yet, there is still time.  It’s an evening of celebration and smiles, and is a lovely way to round off the session.
Next week is business as usual (apart from Sports’ Morning) and we will finish at 12.05pm on Friday.

Have a very good weekend.
S Ingham
 

20 June 2014
Published: 20 June 2014

Two really fabulous (and a number of ordinarily fabulous) things happened this week: the Queen’s Baton Relay hit Haddington and the P7s hit Knox Academy.

It’s always a bit nerve-wracking organising the P7 visit.  Months of preparation and consideration come to fruition for a madcap couple of days.  It was great to meet the P7s – they pretty much all seem ready for the move to “big” school and were telling me that they wish that they could have stayed up for longer.  They went round the school with the help of their S6 buddies, participating in classes and getting a feel for what the building is like on a day-to-day basis.  They were polite, chatty and willing to give things a go, which is just what we want from prospective Knox Academicians!  I would like to say a big “THANK YOU” to Ms Duff, Mr Simpson, The Guidance Team, the S6 and the Primary Schools for helping to make it such a big success.  I am looking forward to welcoming the new S1 in August (and the time will fly!).

The Queen’s Baton Relay is also something for which we have been planning for a while.  It was a wonderful example of the community coming together to put on an event that was definitely greater than the sum of its parts.  The town was buzzing and, thank fully, the weather played its part to perfection.  There are too many people to thank – but from a school perspective – Steve Wands and Laurie Daborn from Active School were marvellous, and were ably assisted by our own Mr Greenaway in the massive task of risk assessing activities and getting pupils involved.  I was told that the Queen’s Baton Bus might as well have been called the “Knox Academy Bus” with the number of people carrying the Baton who had some affiliation with the school.  In particular I would like to congratulate: Neil Howie, Scott Thomson, and Scott Marnoch for their Baton-bearing duties (also Demi Moffatt - even though she was representing Midlothian the day before).  I was very lucky to be invited to the event for the Baton that was held at the Brunton Theatre on Tuesday night.  It was an evening of drama, song and dance from around the Commonwealth and was a joy to behold. Mary-Beth McFern and Holly Meritt did us proud as part of the Baton Relay extravaganza by performing the piece they created for the National Theatre of Scotland's “Five Minute Theatre Festival”, with the theme this year of 'Yes/No/Don't Know'. They performed this balanced piece twice in front of a lively, noisy crowd and the piece was previously recorded to form part of the 24 hour online festival run by the National Theatre each year.

The County Sports also happened this week.  Well done to everyone who took part and I look forward to hearing how it went in more detail.  Congratulations also go to Kieran McDonald who took part in the Great North Swim Half Mile at Lake Windermere last Sunday morning.   Along with over 500 others he braved the chilly water temperature of 17 degrees, completing the swim in 40 minutes and raising £180 for MacMillan Cancer Care.  A brilliant effort!

Next week the New S4 go on Work Experience.  I spoke to them this morning about our expectations of their behaviour and that they should get the most out of the experience as possible.  I hope they have a wonderful time and come back having had a great time.

Now that the weather has perked up a bit, I wish you all a sunny and relaxing weekend.
S Ingham
 

13 June 2014
Published: 13 June 2014

Thankfully the weather held on Monday for the East Lothian Youth Games.  The Knox pupils surpassed themselves, coming second overall.  I am absolutely delighted with their tenacity and hard work.  What was even more pleasing was that the Boys’ Basketball team won their tournament!  So, congratulations to all the competitors, the coaches and staff who supported the event and helped it happen.
 

The weather was less clement on Tuesday as I stood on the battlements at Edinburgh Castle at the 21 gun salute for the Duke of Edinburgh’s birthday.  It was a pleasure to represent East Lothian (and Knox Academy) at the event.

On Wednesday I attended the final Cluster Head Teachers’ meeting of the session.  A lot of time was focused on our preparations for the P7 visit next Tuesday and Wednesday.  We are really looking forward to meeting the P7s next week.  The S6 are geared up to buddy them around, and the present S1s are looking forward to seeing people that they haven’t seen for a year.  There is an information evening on Monday night – 6.30pm start.  Parents and pupils can come a bit earlier to get Smart Cards charged with money for the Food Court or to pick up Dress Code orders.

On Thursday I visited an S3 History class (with a twist).  They have been looking at World War One and the naval arms race.  The class was divided into groups and had to make “Dragon’s Den-like” pitches to me as to which group was going to build a fleet of Dreadnoughts.  The pupils made imaginative presentations and demonstrated impressive knowledge of their subject.  I really enjoyed it and look forward to further opportunities to watch pupils demonstrating their skills.

Today is the Leavers’ Ceremony.  I am excited to meet up with the S6 to mark their time in school.  We will also have the Leavers’ Dance on the 20th and can't wait to see the young people in all their finery.

Have a good week.
S Ingham
 

13 June 2014
Published: 13 June 2014

Thankfully the weather held on Monday for the East Lothian Youth Games.  The Knox pupils surpassed themselves, coming second overall.  I am absolutely delighted with their tenacity and hard work.  What was even more pleasing was that the Boys’ Basketball team won their tournament!  So, congratulations to all the competitors, the coaches and staff who supported the event and helped it happen.
 

The weather was less clement on Tuesday as I stood on the battlements at Edinburgh Castle at the 21 gun salute for the Duke of Edinburgh’s birthday.  It was a pleasure to represent East Lothian (and Knox Academy) at the event.

On Wednesday I attended the final Cluster Head Teachers’ meeting of the session.  A lot of time was focused on our preparations for the P7 visit next Tuesday and Wednesday.  We are really looking forward to meeting the P7s next week.  The S6 are geared up to buddy them around, and the present S1s are looking forward to seeing people that they haven’t seen for a year.  There is an information evening on Monday night – 6.30pm start.  Parents and pupils can come a bit earlier to get Smart Cards charged with money for the Food Court or to pick up Dress Code orders.

On Thursday I visited an S3 History class (with a twist).  They have been looking at World War One and the naval arms race.  The class was divided into groups and had to make “Dragon’s Den-like” pitches to me as to which group was going to build a fleet of Dreadnoughts.  The pupils made imaginative presentations and demonstrated impressive knowledge of their subject.  I really enjoyed it and look forward to further opportunities to watch pupils demonstrating their skills.

Today is the Leavers’ Ceremony.  I am excited to meet up with the S6 to mark their time in school.  We will also have the Leavers’ Dance on the 20th and can't wait to see the young people in all their finery.

Have a good week.
S Ingham
 

6 June 2014
Published: 06 June 2014

Having got everyone back safely from Activities’ Week, the new timetable has started, and the school is buzzing with young people getting to grips with new courses.

On Tuesday I popped up to visit one of Mr McSwan’s Computing classes where I encountered senior pupils coding to produce computer games of varying complexity.  The pupils were all so confident with what they were doing and yet, to me, it was a foreign language!  The speed with which they were able to produce graphics was astonishing.  The more advanced pupils were working out how to make a game of “Stone, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock”  - and those “Big Bang Theory” fans among you will know how complicated that will be!

On Wednesday I had the pleasure of interviewing for a full time, permanent post in PE.  We have a preferred candidate and await completion of references.  It was a strong leet and the discussions afterwards regarding the appointment were protracted!  Thanks to Mr Hunton from the PSP for helping us out with the observation part of the process.

Whilst I was interviewing, two of our senior pupils were competing in the Disability Sports at Grangemouth.  I think that they should have been renamed the “Aquatic Athletics”!  Congratulations to Ashleigh and Josh for not only representing the school, but being the only East Lothian senior pupils to be there.  Thanks also to Mrs Little for accompanying and supporting them.

Last night I enjoyed a night out at the theatre – the East Lothian Dance Annual Showcase to be precise.  There were 24 dance groups performing ranging from “Musselburgh Mini Movers Nursery” to participants from a seated exercise class.  Two of our pupils: Holly Morton and Ben Scott appeared with the East Lothian Youth Dance Company who performed three numbers.  Both Holly and Ben danced with grace and attack and I was delighted to see the school represented.  It was also fabulous to see so many young people keeping fit and getting up and performing in front of their peers and families.

A reminder for the seniors who are leaving us that there will be a short ceremony to mark their time in school next week – on the 13th June at 12.05pm in the Hall.  It’s an opportunity to mark the end of an era, and I look forward to seeing those who can make it.
 

Have a great week.
S Ingham